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🏖 Club Keravel in Carnac spans 10 hectares, offering 173 lodgings and 88 camping spots, featuring a vast aqua park, sports fields, health trail, mini-golf, and a 900m² spa. It hosts events with 5 restaurants, a 450-seat auditorium, and 10 modular meeting rooms totaling 1,100m². Vacances Bleues plans a €5.8 million renovation from 2026, aiming for modernization and an energy transition.

📈 Inno'Tourism, France's leading show on hotel innovation, features Patrick d’Altelis revealing how the AI chatbot livie is revolutionizing customer service and increasing direct bookings. The exclusive interview covers integration of Google Maps, predictive AI, and an upcoming game-changing feature, promising advancements for the independent hotel industry. Watch to learn about staying ahead in AI adoption. Contact Patrick for a demo at 06 08 33 16 93 or [email protected]. Interview by Tony Loeb. Sponsored episode.

📚 A Google Business Profile (GBP) can become invisible due to lack of validation, suspension, or poor optimization. An unvalidated GBP won't show in search results or on Google Maps. Suspensions may occur for misleading information, duplicate profiles, suspected fraud, user reports, or inconsistent changes. A poorly optimized GBP is less likely to appear against direct and indirect competition on Google Search or Maps. A complete GBP has 7 times more chances of appearing in local searches. High-quality photos can increase direction requests by 42% and clicks to the website by 35%. Frequent Google Posts and precise Google My Business categories are recommended for better engagement and activity signals to Google. Guest Suite offers tools for local marketing and managing customer reviews to improve GBP visibility.

💰 The Conseil d'Etat ruled that vacation rental owners who selectively accept rental requests must pay the residence tax, even if they believed they were exempt. A couple in Finistère was taxed for their three gites despite a high reservation rate due to their discretionary acceptance rights. The initial ruling by the Rennes Administrative Tribunal was overturned on appeal by the Ministry of Finance in December 2022, leading to a potential widespread reinstatement of taxes for similar practices across France.

🏨 PAI Partners becomes the majority shareholder of Motel One, holding about 80%. Dieter Müller, Motel One's founder, regains control in April 2024 after buying back shares from Proprium Capital Partners. The partnership aims to boost international growth and maintain brand identity. Since 2000, Motel One has thrived in Europe's design economy hotel sector, boasting affordable prices, central locations, high customer satisfaction, and quality design, with over 10 million guests. Müller continues to lead and expand the real estate branch post-transaction.

🍳 Food Hotel Tech 2025 will highlight key innovations in the hospitality and restaurant industries through an immersive and interactive setup. Key initiatives include four award ceremonies—Startup Award, Innovation Award (a new addition in 2025), Cuisine Tech Innovation Award, and Customer Experience Award—sponsored by sector leaders and judged by expert juries. Guided tours of innovative stands, innovation pitches on digital and CSR themes, and the Customer Experience Award Ceremony, sponsored by Accor and L'Hôtellerie Restauration, will take place on March 19 from 12:00 to 13:00 in Room 2. Finalists include OTELY (staffless room service via Uber Eats), IPAN IPAN (wireless chargers integrated into furniture), PASSMAN (hotel energy optimization), DUVE (all-in-one digital solution for hotels), and SKEEPIT (digital management).

📊 RevPAR grew by 10.7% year-on-year. Revenue increased by 6.4% reaching €2,056 million. Net debt was reduced by over a third, down €391 million to €772.7 million. EBITDA margin, excluding capital gains, improved by 129 basis points. Group's assets were revalued by 13.88% at €5,285 million. Portfolio expansion included the signing of 34 new hotels and the opening of 19 establishments.

🏨 Alfred Hotels, in partnership with Braxton Investment Management and Le Comptoir Immobilier, expands its presence in France with the acquisition of its first property in Paris - the 29-room Hôtel de Maubeuge in the 10th arrondissement. Within two years, the joint venture has raised over 70 million euros in equity and now operates nine hotels in the country. The Haussmann-style hotel, strategically located between Gare du Nord and tourist hotspots like the 9th arrondissement and Montmartre, aims to optimize occupancy rates. A restructuring is planned for winter 2025 to align the hotel with ALFRED HOTELS' brand.

🏖 In 2025, without major events like the Olympics, seniors (60+) become a key demographic for tourism, with an emphasis on active vacations in France. Seniors have time and resources, value health-oriented travel, and enjoy multigenerational trips. Seniors over 65 made over 55 million trips in France, spending on average €435 per stay, higher than the active adult average of €356. Trends include wellness tourism, multigenerational travel, eco-friendly options, slow travel, enriching cultural experiences, and luxury. Technology adaptation is critical for bookings, with seniors valuing virtual tours and using tech like smartwatches and navigation apps. Businesses are advised to tailor offers to relaxation, culture, and wellness, communicate accessibility, and partner with health professionals. Marketing should leverage Facebook, newsletters, and blogs to reach this receptive audience.

📊 GMBapi conducted a study on Google review deletion, covering nearly 5 million reviews across 78 countries and over 19,000 establishments. Inauthentic or fraudulent reviews, particularly 5-star ones suspected of manipulation, are targeted for deletion by Google's advanced detection system. Keyword-based detection triggers removal for generic or repetitive terms used in suspect reviews. Extreme reviews, both overly positive (5 stars) and very negative (1 star), are closely monitored due to their strong influence on a business's e-reputation. The study found that 73.7% of deleted reviews received no response from the business, while only 26.3% had received a reply, suggesting that engagement may influence moderation. Reviews on sensitive topics like working conditions or internal criticism are often deleted. The most deleted reviews are high-rated, with 69.5% being 5-star reviews, compared to just 14% for 4-star ones. To avoid review deletion, businesses should encourage authentic, detailed reviews, avoid incentivizing reviews, and actively interact with customer reviews.